long weekend.

So, this is the first Labor Day weekend in 7 years (!!!) that we aren't at a soccer tournament. In fact, over the last 7 years, we haven't had many (maybe one other) 3 day weekends that weren't soccer tournament weekends. When you get into competitive soccer, you have to know going in that Memorial Day, Labor Day and MLK Day all belong to Soccer. Many Spring Breaks, Thanksgiving Breaks & Christmas Breaks have also been lost to the Almighty Soccer. I've complained a lot about it through the years, but I will miss is when it's gone...

Although we didn't have a soccer TOURNAMENT (where we get to stay in a hotel & enjoy adult beverages by the pool with other parents in the evenings), Jordan did have a soccer GAME (where we get to get up at 4:45am to leave the house at 5:30am to drive 2 hours & to drive home again that evening in the RAIN) at UF. Kind of an exhibition game in front of the UF coaches in this prime recruitment year. This was also opening college football weekend and the UF coaches gave each of the girls & their parents tickets to the football game. (GO GATORS!!!) Megan wasn't able to get student tickets to the game and, since not all of the girls had both parents going, we were lucky enough to be score 2 extra tickets for Megan & Ben.

Never having gone to a college football game, I was very excited and even got Ben (he who hates the heat & is not too interested in sports) excited about it. I did not realize, however, that our tickets were in, not only the STUDENT section of The Swamp, but in the student ATHELETE section. Because of circumstances out of our control, we didn't get to our seats until after kick off and "others" were already in our seats (or rather, in front of our bleacher) when we got there. As we pushing our way to our spots, a LOVELY Florida Track Bi-otch expressed, rather loudly that this was the STUDENT ATHELETE section and we were NOT student athletes. Needless to say, she is very lucky that Ben was with me because I very much had to restrain myself from pushing her down the bleachers, ending her STUDENT ATHLETE career (Michael says this would have made her eligible for the gymnastics program, as she went tumbling...haha! Anyway, I digress...) It was hot & we had been rained on & I was angry & Ben really wasn't interested in the game so he & I took off & explored the campus while the rest of the family stayed on to watch the Gators CRUSH Hawaii (56-10). Ben & I ended up having a great time & he really LOVES the campus & is already envisioning himself there, 8 years from now... we'll see if he changes his mind next week when we travel to Tallahassee and sees the FSU campus.

As a sidenote...it was great to see Megan! College life really seems to be agreeing with her. She looked great and seems really happy...and she & her friends all LOVED the goodies from Gramma Tiss. We weren't so much sad to say goodbye as jealous we had to get back to real life.

On this Sunday of the 3 day weekend, Michael & Jordan are off to Disney to watch the soccer tournament we are usually attending... they really can never get enough soccer. Ben & I stayed home & watched the Discovery Channel & VH1 Classic (80 hours of the 80's, Baby!). I've also wasted hours reading blogs of random people I've never met... fascinating stuff. I'm not being sarcastic, it was really fun. I will order pizza soon & call it a completely wasted day.

I haven't talked it over with Michael yet, but hopefully we will get some things done around the house tomorrow... or he & Jordan will be heading back to Orlando. I'll keep you posted.

Penelope Fajita

Just wanted to take a minute to congratulate, our friend Penelope Fajita on her first college soccer win!!! Way to go Penelope, we are so proud of you & we remember you way back when...

First Day of School (a little late)

At the request of my mom, here are some pictures of the kids on the first day of school, which was August 18. Ben is a 5th grader this year. When he finishes up elementary school in May it will be the end of an era, as at least one of our kids has been at that school every year since 1996, when Megan started 1st grade. He is a patrol this year & I'm really sorry I didn't get a picture of him wearing his belt. I will definitely have to do that before the year is through.

Jordan is a Junior! Wow! She has her license & the car that used to be Megan's and is driving herself to school, soccer & the Y now. According to Ben, "Jordan being able to drive is the best invention ever!" Can you tell he's spent a lot of time in the car?

Here they are, pretending they like each other. Megan was still home that morning but she had just woken up & she deemed herself not ready to be photographed. For once, I accepted that.

And to reward me for not taking her picture that morning, Megan used the timer function on her camera & took one of herself before her first day of class, which was Monday, Aug. 25. I think her roommate was still sleeping, I'm sure she appreciated the flash bright & early. But thank you Meg, I really appreciated that.

Adjustments.

Life around here is a little different without Megan. There's a little less laundry, there is one less mental checkmark as everyone comes home at the end of their day, a little more room on our dining room table for actually serving dishes. I get a few more phone calls during the day as Megan checks in & gives me a little insight into her busy, new life. :) The chores Jordan shared with Megan are now Jordan's to do alone (at least in theory). We are all tweaking our lives a little with our new family dynamic. Although Ben really misses his biggest sister greatly, there is one adjustment he's enjoying a little too much.

On Sunday night, when I asked Ben to "get jammified" (aka put on his jammies & brush his teeth) he put on his King High School Marching Lions (Megan's alma mater) t-shirt & asked if he could sleep in Megan's bed. I thought that this was very sweet. Ben is a pretty sensitive kid so I thought that maybe is way of connecting with Megan & I took a picture of him once he fell asleep to send to Megan so she would know how much he misses her.

Monday afternoon after school, Ben goes off to do his homework... on Megan's desk. Later I find him reading... on Megan's bed. I don't blame Ben at all, although the room is purple & covered with big, brightly colored flowers Megan's bed is a double (his is a loft, twin bed) & really comfy, her room is CLEAN (unlike Ben's) & big (very unlike Ben's). Megan's room is also more centrally located in the house, Ben's is at the end of the hall, down by the laundry closet & the garage. So, we made Ben a deal that as long as Megan was gone, Ben is allowed to sleep in that bed & do his homework on that desk, but he is not allowed to keep ANY of his things in there, and he knows that when Megan comes home for an occasional weekend & on breaks, the room belongs to Megan alone. We have committed to leaving her room as is for a least a year, then we will re-evaluate the room situation. In the meantime, Ben will enjoy "having" two rooms...

The "Can-Do Kid"

YEAH!!! Today we found out that, for the 2nd year in a row, Jordan has been selected to participate as a member of the Region III team in the Inter-regional Event in Coral Springs, FL over Thanksgiving weekend.

For you non-soccer folks, this is part of the ODP (Olympic Development Program) though US Youth Soccer. For the past 3 years, Jordan has been a member of the Florida State ODP team & has had the opportunity to spend a few days each summer in Alabama, competing against teams from other states in the Southeastern U.S. At the end of the week, some players are asked to stay a few more days part of the "regional pool", from that "pool" players are selected to attend various events, the Inter-regional event being the first. Players from all 4 U.S. regions will be competing against each other as well as the U15 US Women's Nat'l team & a national team frm Russia. There will also be U.S. Nat'l team coaches & an estimated 75 Division 1 coaches there scouting. This is another exciting opportunity for Jordan & we are so proud of her!

This leads me to start wondering about Thanksgiving & Ben's birthday (which is during this event). Last year, we went down for a few days, stayed at the same hotel & watched some of the competitions. We had a crappy, albeit expensive, Thanksgiving dinner in the hotel dining room(the Inter-regional girls had a catered affair in one of the banquet rooms). Our budget is a little tighter this year, plus Megan will be home for such a short time, but hopefully we can go down for a little while. I know that the BIRTHDAY BOY will NOT want to spend his big day at the soccer field, but he also won't want to participate in his birthday surprise without his sisters! So... lots of details to work out and knowing me, I will obsess about them until the last minute without actually doing anything about them. :)

Although I complain, I'm really glad to have this problem & I know that Jordan has worked really hard to reach her goals. Jordan has had such a determination since she was a toddler & my mom always called her the "Can-Do Kid" & that is exactly what she is! Congratulations Kid!

Mission. Accomplished.

It's done. Megan is spending her first night at UF tonight; we are spending the night in Brandon, two hours away. All in all, the day went really well, considering we were originally supposed to take her up yesterday, but UF canceled check-in Wednesday due to Fay. Of course, yesterday the weather was overcast but generally fine, as opposed to today when Fay was turning around to make her 3rd landfall heading west toward Gainesville. Thankfully, we got there early and only had to deal with sprinkles as we were unloading her things. Later the weather turned pretty bad, lots of sideways rain & wind. Michael was really great, always running to get the car while Megan & I stayed under shelter until he pulled the car up as we ran a few last minute errands around town.

Despite the weather, we were all in a great mood all day. Megan's excitement about being on campus was contagious and Michael & I were able to really appreciate what a great opportunity this is for her. We had a great lunch at "The Swamp", a local restaurant just off-campus & spent the afternoon getting her room put together. By the time we had to head home, the weather was getting really bad & I just had time for a quick hug & kiss before I had to race out the car that Michael had pulled up to the curb...and me having to run (against the wind) was good for such a laugh that Michael & I didn't have to allow ourselves to be sad. (On a side note, Jordan's team has a soccer training session at UF next Saturday, so we will see Megan again in just over a week...that helped!)

Here are some pictures of our day, although I don't think they do justice for how cute her dorm turned out:

Here are Megan & Ben this morning. We headed to Gainesville right after we dropped Ben at school.

Megan peeking over her "stuff" before we pulled out of the driveway.

Right after check-in before we unloaded her things. Her roommate, Erika, had already moved her things in.

Polka-Dots!

Michael, working on Megan's internet connection.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Another sidenote: USA! USA! USA! The Women's National Soccer Team beat Brazil this morning to win the Olympic Gold Medal! While this would be very big news to our soccer obsessed family anyway, this morning's win was especially sweet,as it secured the coveted top spot in Andy's Olympic Soccer Pool to Michael! Congratulations honey!

Megan

Megan at 4 months
Kindergarten
6th grade with a broken arm (soccer injury)
18 years old & ready to fly

Moving Day

Hi there! I'm new to this blogging thing, but I found a blog that my friend Joanne does & I thought it looked like a fun way to keep in touch, so I thought I'd try it out. Hopefully I'll update it a few times a week, so I hope you come back to check it often.

Tomorrow is moving day. Michael & I are moving our oldest daughter to college. It hardly seems possible that she's old enough to be going away. I'm really having a hard time grasping the reality that, as of tomorrow, there will be one less place setting at our dining room table.

Both Michael & I are so excited for her. We know she's going to love being a FLORIDA GATOR and that she really is heading for a great adventure. We are so proud of her accomplishments, yet we are even more proud of the person she's become. Hopefully, we have done our job & given her wings...

WE LOVE YOU MEGAN!